


mystery tour

by possumdnp



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Animal Crossing Fusion, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:41:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24193747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/possumdnp/pseuds/possumdnp
Summary: Phil wasn’t expecting to find a cute guy named Dan when he booked a Dodo Airlines trip to a nearby island.[An Animal Crossing AU, where Phil lives on Pickle Island and Dan lives on Danando Island.]
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 6
Kudos: 51





	mystery tour

Phil had first heard about Danando Island from Orville, the dodo who works at the check-in desk of Pickle’s airport. It had all started when Phil mentioned in passing that the mystery island tours sometimes felt a little lonely.

Even though Phil is an introvert, he still likes to meet new people. And sometimes, he’d like to visit civilization, not just another deserted island.

“I know a perfect place for you,” Orville tells Phil excitedly, sliding a brochure across the desk with one stubby wing. “It’s called Danando. It's fairly close by, and it’s not quite as deserted as some of the other islands we go to. There’s a thriving little town there, from what I’ve heard from our pilots.”

“Close by?” Phil says, now looking through the brochure with interest. “I like the sound of that.” He’s had some great adventures far away from Pickle, but he always feels super motion sick during long airplane rides. A nearby island - and a thriving town to boot - sounds perfect.

“Yup! We can get you on your way whenever you’d like, if you’re interested.”

“Yeah, sure,” Phil says. “I’d like to go right now, if that’s okay. I don’t have anything better to do.” He knows he’s a bit too spontaneous sometimes; deciding to live on a deserted island with a bunch of strangers speaks to that. But what could be the harm in visiting another island? He does it all the time.

“Great!” Orville says, and begins typing some information into his computer. “So you’re all set? Tools packed, ready to go?”

Phil nods, checking his bag. Everything’s all there, just like it always is.

And soon, Phil is on his way. He stares out the window of the plane. There’s so much water below him, clear and sparkling in the sunshine.

“Coming in for a water landing, Phil,” the Dodo Airlines pilot says gruffly, and Phil nods. He looks down to see that they’re quickly approaching an island. It’s about the same size as Pickle, from what he can tell.

The plane lands smoothly, and soon, Phil is stepping off of the plane, the warm air of Danando Island blowing through his quiff. He adjusts his sunglasses and walks up the pier and onto the island proper.

He’s immediately overwhelmed with how beautiful it is. Pickle has natural, untouched beauty, but it’s positively undeveloped and wild compared to this island. He looks around, taking it all in. There’s an elegant red bridge next to a waterfall, leading to a sweet little park area with bushes and benches. It’s filled with a rainbow assortment of flowers, and bees hum happily through the air.

Yes, coming here was a good decision, Phil thinks.

He makes his way across the bridge and into the park, where he spots a penguin, who must be one of the residents here. She’s watering the flowers and singing to herself.

When Phil approaches, she looks up from her work and waves a flipper at him. “Hello, visitor! Welcome to the island. I’m Aurora.”

“Hi! I’m Phil from Pickle.” He shakes her flipper.

“I’ve heard of Pickle,” Aurora says, looking thoughtful. “They grow pears there, don’t they? I haven’t eaten a pear in such a long time.”

“Yeah, we do have pears,” Phil says eagerly. “Would you like one?”

The penguin looks surprised. “Oh wow, are you sure?”

“Of course,” Phil says, and takes one out of his bag. “We grow a lot of them. It’s no problem at all.”

“You’re very kind.” Aurora takes the pear gently from him and holds it carefully in her flippers. “You know, I’ve never met another human before. I mean, besides Dan.”

“Dan?”

She nods. “Dan was one of our island’s first residents. He lives over there by the shore.” She motions, and Phil can see a small cottage in the distance. “You should say hello.”

Phil feels a thrill of excitement run through him. Another human! He hasn’t seen another human in ages. Not that there’s a problem with that; he absolutely loves the company of his animal friends. But there’s just something comforting about being able to talk to someone about human-specific problems.

“Okay, I think I will say hello,” Phil says cheerfully. He wishes Aurora the penguin well and leaves her to enjoy her pear on the garden bench in peace. He heads off down the path in the direction of the other human’s house.

There’s flowers planted all along the pathways, a variety that Phil’s never seen before. There’s cherry trees too, and Phil wonders if he can convince Dan to trade him a pear for a cherry.

When he finally arrives at the little house, there’s a note taped to the door, handwritten in a messy scrawl.

_Out fishing! -Dan_

Phil turns and scans the coastline. A little further down, there’s a figure standing, fishing line cast into the ocean. So Phil heads down the beach in that direction.

As he approaches, he sees that the figure is indeed human. It’s a guy who looks about his own age. He’s got a bird’s nest of curly brown hair on his head, and he’s wearing a striped shirt. Phil’s heart races just a little; the guy’s cute.

He turns as Phil approaches. “Hi. Are you the visitor from the airplane that just landed?” he asks. His voice is surprisingly soft and mumbly for such a tall guy, and Phil almost misses it over the sound of the waves.

“Yeah, I am.” He sticks out his hand. “I’m Phil, all the way from Pickle.”

“Dan.” He smirks as he shakes Phil’s hand. “Pickle? Great name for an island, mate.”

“Don’t make fun of it, I came up with it myself,” Phil says. “Besides, _‘Danando’?_ Did you actually name an island after yourself?”

“Fair enough,” Dan says, his smirk turning more friendly. “My fellow islanders voted and all thought it was a good idea, so who’s to blame really?”

Phil laughs and turns his eyes to the ocean, where Dan’s fishing lure is bobbing out in the water. “Catch anything good today?”

“Not really,” Dan says with a sigh. “Just a bunch of sea bass.” He reels in his line and puts his pole away into his bag. “I’ve been at it for hours anyway. Want to go explore the island?”

“I’d love that.”

They set off, heading up the cliff by the ocean. Even the wilderness on this island looks carefully planned and landscaped. Phil is beyond impressed. The residents here must have spent a long time designing it.

After Dan gives him a brief tour of the island, they settle down onto a rock overlooking the ocean. They take their shoes off and let their feet soak in the water. Phil feels incredibly peaceful, even though Dan’s practically a stranger. He wonders if that’s part of the islander lifestyle, if friendships somehow get forged faster out in the middle of nowhere.

“So why’d you move to a deserted island?” Dan asks eventually, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

“Why does anyone?” Phil says. He tips his head back, closes his eyes, and soaks in the late afternoon sun. He’s glad he applied sun cream; he would be as red as a lobster otherwise. “I mostly wanted to escape city life. It was too busy for me, too many people. And I just didn’t feel passionate about anything. How about you?”

“Me?” Dan smiles. “It’s a bit embarrassing.”

“Nothing you say will be embarrassing,” Phil says. “But if it'll make you feel better, do you wanna know something horrific that happened to me the other day?”

“Sure.”

“My friend Lyman literally gifted me a urinal. Trust me, _nothing_ you say's gonna beat that incident. What the hell are you supposed to say when a koala enthusiastically gives you a urinal?”

Dan laughs loudly. “Okay, yeah, my thing’s not as weird as that.” He looks out across the ocean, and his expression becomes more thoughtful. “I really want to be a writer. I wanted to move to a quiet island to get some work done.”

“Wow, a writer? That’s so cool, Dan!”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“What are you writing?”

“That’s the embarrassing part,” Dan says, squirming uncomfortably on the rock. “It’s kinda a reflection of my life so far.” He chances a glance at Phil, looks carefully at him before continuing. “It’s about growing up, and dealing with mental health issues, and - and figuring out you’re gay. But mostly, I wanted to write about how those things aren’t a tragedy, the way some stories present them as. How it’s possible to come out the other side of those experiences as a happy person, you know?”

Phil smiles gently at him. “I think that’s fantastic.”

“It’s fictional, so it’s not like it’s a proper memoir of me, a total nobody, but still,” Dan says. He’s rambling, and he seems nervous. Phil can’t help but put a comforting hand on Dan’s knee.

“You know, I think it’s _exactly_ the kind of book I would have liked to have read as a teenager,” Phil says softly, meeting Dan’s eyes. “The sort of thing that would have made me feel less alone.”

“Really?” Dan says.

“Really. I bet you’ll be a best-selling author and everything. You’ve got to send a copy over to my island when it’s published, okay?”

Dan grins. “Okay, deal. That’s _if_ I ever get it finished. Landscaping this island keeps me pretty busy. So maybe if I get writer’s block, I’ll just become a full-time landscaper instead and forget about writing the book.”

“Well, I don’t think you should give up on writing,” Phil says. “But if you do want more landscaping practice, you should come over to Pickle and help me landscape. My island, well, it’s a bit of a mess, and my fellow islanders aren’t the hardest workers.”

“I would love to visit you,” Dan says. “It’d be really nice to have another human to spend time with, you know.” He smiles at Phil, and Phil can’t help but blush.

They sit in silence for a while, watching the sun set into the ocean. After a few minutes, Phil realizes with a start that he hasn’t removed his hand from Dan’s knee, from when he placed it there earlier. He goes to withdraw it, feeling embarrassed, but then he feels a hand covering his own, stopping him. Dan squeezes his hand once, and his hand is so big and gentle that it makes Phil feel weak.

He might have to go home to his own island soon, but he knows he's gonna mail Dan an airplane ticket to Pickle, even if it costs him half of his money. Because Dan’s funny and a good landscaper, and he’s writing the next best-selling novel, and he’s cute and currently holding Phil’s hand. 

And if that’s not a reason to invite someone over to his island, he doesn’t know what is.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this concept is kinda different, but Phil's video inspired me. I hope you enjoyed! Reblog on tumblr [here](https://possumdnp.tumblr.com/post/618157635639934976/mystery-tour-g-18-k-summary-phil-wasnt) <3


End file.
